World TV Day

In 1996, the United Nations proclaimed 21st November as World Television Day “in recognition of the increasing impact television has on decision-making by alerting world attention to conflicts and threats to peace and security and its potential role in sharpening the focus on other major issues (…)”.

In 2013, the EBU joined forces with EGTA and ACT to promote UN World TV Day on 21 November and honour a medium that holds a central place in the lives of millions of people, and to highlight the many services it offers in this era of multi-screening.

Every year a short video clip highlighting the role TV plays in our lives is offered to be broadcast by televisions across Europe, Asia, Canada, USA and Australia.

Broadcasters are able to add their own local/ national content to the video before airing the clip across their networks or online portals and viewers encouraged to use the dedicated hashtag #WorldTVDay on social networks to celebrate their love of television.

Quality content

The topic of the 22nd edition of this global celebration is 'quality content'. The outstanding quality of TV programmes is reflected in how this proven medium has the unmatched capacity to entertain, inspire and inform viewers, across all platforms.

Last year alone the production of TV fiction in the European Union amounted to about 920 different titles, representing over 16 400 episodes and more than 11 000 hours, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory's latest report.

EBU Members in 56 countries invest more than 18.6 billion euros a year in creating premium content.

EBU Members are directly involved in 73% of all TV fiction titles produced in the EU.

They also broadcast on average 24 hours of news per day on their TV channels.

EBU Members are also leading the way in making premium content available on all platforms. 95% of them have a free on-demand video service with 83% simulcasting their full offer of TV channels on their websites.

Quality content can incite viewers to broaden their mind and look beyond the everyday life through inspirational shows. It also has the power to entertain and unite scores of people around live programming, such as the recent World Cup (3.4 billion people watched some of the World Cup this year, according to GlobalWebIndex). Finally, TV informs viewers through in-depth news broadcasts, makes them aware of current societal issues and provides learning through quality children’s programming or insightful documentaries.

Partners

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The European Broadcasting Union is the world’s foremost alliance of public service media, representing 117 organizations in 56 countries. We strive to secure a sustainable future for public service media, provide our Members with world-class content through the Eurovision and Euroradio brands, and build on our founding ethos of solidarity and co-operation to create a centre for learning and sharing. Find out more about us.